Tires Choices

I have given tire choice a lot of thought. My favorite brand is Michelin. I like these because while they cost more up front, they cost less in the long term. They last a long time. Their tires offer lower rolling resistance also. I considered three of there tires. The Hydro Edge, the Harmony, and the Energy Saver A/S.

The Hydro Edge are directional tires and people rave about them. They cannot be rotated except on one side, and people complain they are loud and perform poorly in the winter as they wear.

The Harmony is their most popular tire. They are non-directional, so you can do a four or five tire rotation--if you have a full size spare, and some people get over 100,000 miles on these, but keeping their tire pressure adjusted property, rotating frequently, and keeping their front end alignment on specification. I came close to purchasing these tires.

Ultimately, I chose the Energy Saver A/S. These are not in production at the moment. I'm waiting a month to see if they will be available. I will wait as long as it takes. They are lighter and that helps with acceleration. A lighter tire is easier to spin up. Also, it is said because they rotate, the weight of a tire should be counted twice, once for it's weight, and once for the rotational energy required.

My Volvo is under powered. It came with tires that read 10% off. These were lighter tires and they allowed my car to sit lower--which is also more efficient. When I bought the Virgo rims, they came with 215-65R15 tires. These tires are heavier, and while closer to the factor spec for diameter, my wagon now feels slower and it is less fun to drive. While I'd like to keep close to the factory diameter, it seems there is no fuel savings of a larger diameter tire as I drive slow. I also need more pulling capacity for trailering. So I will mostly likely go with the new Volvo tire recommendation 185-65R15, or I might possibly chose the 195-65R15. The former is 17 lbs, and the later is 18 pounds. Both are substantially lighter than the Michelin Harmony, which is probably a more durable tire at 20 lbs for the 185-65R15 tire.

To compensate for this, I'm installing inflation sensors. I'm also looking for a 5th Virgo Rim for a full size spare, that I would like to put into a five tire Rotation. If I can't find another Virgo Rim, that can be powder coated to match the other rims, I'll probably use my extra snow tire for a spare and use a four tire rotation. I will keep accurate records of mileage and snow tire swaps to determine the longevity of these tires. I plan to rotate often, and re-balance at regular intervals.

If the Energy Saver is discontinued, I will probably chose the Harmony. I hope I can get these soon, as I'm eager to see my fuel economy improve. I'm estimating I'll be able to achieve 34 mpg with my wagon with these tires.